Chapter 0695 Aftermath

Zhuangzi said: Human life between heaven and earth is like a white colt passing a gap, suddenly and that is all. The meaning of this saying, in summary, is simply a lament that time passes quickly.

Half a month had passed since the last acquisition incident. During this time, the changes at Wanda Commercial Building were something no one had anticipated.

In fact, as Han Bin said, the so-called equity shares of Wanda Commercial Building were nothing but a joke.

After Zhao Fusheng checked the registration records at the Industry and Commerce Bureau, he was completely dumbfounded.

Because according to the bureau's records, this Wanda Commercial Building was owned by his father.

More precisely, for the entire Wanda Company, the legal representative was his father, the owner was also his father, and the rest were employees. Yes, whether it was Chen Hai or Hou Liangping and others, according to what the lawyer sent by Han Bin said, they were just employees hired by Zhao's father.

As for things like equity, those were merely private agreements among them.

In simple terms, Zhao's father raised a sum of money from Chen Hai, Hou Liangping, and others through fundraising, started a business, and then agreed that after the business succeeded, these people would each enjoy a certain share of dividends in his company.

"So, if I don't want to, and I return their principal, they get nothing?" Zhao's father stared at his son, completely unable to believe such a statement existed.

"In theory, yes." Zhao Fusheng nodded and spread his hands to his father. "But I know you won't do that, because that's not what you said at the beginning."

His father remained silent. As the saying goes, a father knows his son, and Zhao Fusheng's words struck home. In Zhao's father's worldview, a real man's words were like nails—once spoken, they were fixed, and even if it meant suffering a loss, he had to accept it.

The reasoning was simple: if a person didn't keep his word and had no credibility, who would dare to cooperate with him?

So Zhao's father's final choice was predictable.

…

…

"So, your father still chose to give those people shares based on their investment amounts?" Standing on the campus of Binzhou Normal University, Han Bin didn't mind the snowflakes slowly falling around him; instead, he asked Zhao Fusheng beside him.

Zhao Fusheng nodded honestly: "Yes, but he removed them from their positions and kicked out all those messy people they had placed in the mall."

"I have to admit, your father's business will definitely be very successful in the future."

After about half a minute of silence, Han Bin suddenly said to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng was completely baffled by this abrupt remark. Even though he had lived to nearly fifty in his previous life, the problem was that in that life, Zhao Fusheng was just an ordinary clerk—in other words, a nobody. Expecting his mind to keep up with Han Bin's logic was really asking too much.

"Don't understand?" Noticing Zhao Fusheng's reaction, Han Bin smiled and asked.

Zhao Fusheng nodded honestly, not feeling at all embarrassed by his current state, and said calmly: "Although he is my father, I still don't quite understand what you mean."

Han Bin smiled: "Credibility. I guarantee that after this, no matter who does business with your father in the entire Ninghai area, they will feel very assured, because they can be sure that your father is a man who keeps his promises."

"I understand." Zhao Fusheng was startled for a moment, then laughed. "Businessmen are a strange group. You always pursue profits, but you hope others can abide by the spirit of contract, right?"

"Yes, a businessman willing to abide by the spirit of contract is not easy to come by. And once you meet one, even if it means partnering with him to sell arms, I'd be willing." Han Bin said self-deprecatingly.

Zhao Fusheng didn't know how much of his words were true, but he did agree with Han Bin's reasoning. His own father was indeed a man who relied on integrity to do business.

Such a person might suffer some losses in the initial stage, but over time, the returns he could obtain should be greater.

This was not about business acumen—Zhao Fusheng didn't understand that; he was judging purely from the perspective of being a person.

"Regardless, thank you for this matter," Zhao Fusheng said sincerely, looking at Han Bin.

The man had come all the way to help, and moreover had found the most crucial weapon to help his father win; he had to acknowledge this debt of gratitude.

"No need for thanks. If the news you mentioned is true, I should be thanking you," Han Bin said, taking a drag from his cigarette, flicking the ash, and shaking his head at Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng smiled and said nothing.

Originally, he had just been speaking casually; in fact, the benefit this news he had leaked to the Han family could bring them would be unimaginable. After all, that the Beijing real estate market would start to recover next year—no one except him probably knew what that meant.

In the end, in Zhao Fusheng's view, since he was currently unable to participate in this feast, rather than watching the situation unfold, it was better to sell the Han family a favor.

……

……

Carrying Zhao Fusheng's news, Han Bin left Ninghai. As for what the Han family would do next, Zhao Fusheng couldn't be bothered to ask and had no interest; he had already pointed out the direction, and when the time came, housing prices would prove he wasn't lying.

As for his father's side, Hou Liangping and the others were told they had only two options: either settle for being shareholders and wait for dividends, or take back the money they had originally put in, now with principal and interest.

Unless someone was crazy, they knew which to choose.

Speaking of which, his usually penny-pinching mother surprisingly sided with her husband's opinion. Originally, Zhao Fusheng had thought his mother might oppose his father's idea and not allow him to forgive those people, but unexpectedly, after hearing his father's explanation, his mother said nothing at all.

This gave Zhao Fusheng a new understanding of his mother.

On second thought, this was actually in line with her character. After all, both his father and mother were the most ordinary Chinese commoners; the moral and value systems of thousands of years were deeply ingrained in them. Although Hou Liangping and the others were in the wrong this time, they hadn't succeeded and had already been punished.

"Actually, I know you're not reconciled, right?"

One day at the family dinner table, Zhao's father asked Zhao Fusheng.

He could see that his son was really bothered by the betrayal of his former comrades. In Zhao Fusheng's view, those guys should have been given a few thousand yuan each and kicked out.

Zhao Fusheng glanced at his silent mother and Li Yuan, and at Fan Beibei who was silently wrestling with a rib, then simply nodded and said to his father, "Yeah, I think they haven't been punished enough."

Zhao's mother and father exchanged a glance and suddenly laughed together. Even Li Yuan laughed, then said, "See, I told you this kid must be holding a grudge, right?"

"He just can't stand anyone bullying his dad," Zhao's mother also said with a smile.

Teased by the two elders, Zhao Fusheng's face flushed slightly, but his gaze still fixed on his father, because he knew very well that only his father could give him the answer to this matter.

Everyone's values are different; correspondingly, some things might be brushed off as a joke in some people's eyes, but in others' eyes, they might want to kill to vent their anger.

To put it bluntly, people have their own worldviews. For example, what Hou Liangping and the others did, in Zhao's parents' eyes, exhausted the last of their friendship; from now on, it would be purely a business relationship, each owing nothing to the other. But in Zhao Fusheng's eyes, this was equivalent to stabbing someone in the back and playing dirty tricks—absolutely unforgivable.

"Silly boy, think about it from another angle. Actually, this is a good thing for our family," Zhao's father said slowly, looking at his son. "After all, now no one can find fault with what we're doing, and no one will hold a grudge against us. If we had really gone all the way, who would dare to cooperate with our family in the future?"

Zhao's father's words left Zhao Fusheng stunned.

He suddenly realized that he seemed to have underestimated his father, or rather, he had taken things for granted and underestimated his father's thinking as an adult.

Compared to his father, he really was guilty of a petty person's mind.